Old School Comp Geek - Building New Gaming Rig

[michaelpbfl]

Hey everyone. I have been tasked by my brother to buy and build him a new gaming computer. I used to be "into" computers years ago, so by default I am the all-knowing family techno guy. LOL Nevermind that I haven't read-up on PC Hardware in a very long time.

SO, for the last few days I've been pouring over my trusty old TomsHardware site, and also NewEgg. I think I put together a decent box for my brother, he wanted it "around $1,500". From NewEgg.com, everything comes in about $1,600.

Below is what I spec'd out. (not listed is keyboard, mouse, etc) I have a few specific questions;

1) Overall, did I make some good choices for the base of the system? The Core2Duo E6600, the MSI nForce MB (supports SLI and newer Intel-Quads for future). Remember, this is a gaming rig. Don't think I'll switch to an AMD CPU, I'm an Intel boy. The E6600 seems bad-arse. And I want the vid-card to last a while, with the option to add another (SLI) for future. I probably won't Overclock right away, MAYBE down the road, but that's not a big deal if my combo doesn't OC well.
2) Everything look compatible with each other?
3) Is that a good Power Supply (the brand, qaulity). And is 500 watt enough for all the hardware I have spec'd?
4) Should I buy different cooling for the CPU, or stick with the retail stuff?
5) Good choice? Every 19" LCD has a max rez of 1280 x 1024. Never bought an LCD before. The graphics card goes way beyond that.. but, I always loved Viewsonic monitors, and the latency on this LCD is 2ms.
6) Any other recommendations / swap-outs?


CPU / Motherboard / Memory

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 (4-4-4-12)

Graphics

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16

Storage

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2000JS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HD

Case / Power Supply

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower

COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply

Monitor

ViewSonic VX922 Black-Silver 19" 2ms DVI LCD Monitor

Sound

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface

Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speaker


That's it! Don't be too harsh, I've been out of the PC Business for a few years, and had to make up that time in 2-3 days. 8O

Thanks for the input ye hardware gurus! Sorry about all the questions, but $1,600 is a lot of money, feeling the pressure to make good decisions, and I've been out of touch PC hardware-wise for a while now.

-Michael

 

[Mike_Timmins]

Overall, I like it. Everything seems to be well put together.

Its almost always a safe bet to say you want to go with a new CPU Fan. The stock ones that come with realy aren't all that amazing. I would recomend the Thermaltake Big Typhoons. They as I have been told are excellent.

Just because I think bigger is better, I'd go with a 20-"22" wisescreen LCD monitor, keeping it Viewsonic, or Acer. Personaly, I am a Viewsonic fan, but I'm going to end up buying a pair of Acers.

 

[michaelpbfl]

Just because I think bigger is better, I'd go with a 20-"22" wisescreen LCD monitor, keeping it Viewsonic, or Acer. Personaly, I am a Viewsonic fan, but I'm going to end up buying a pair of Acers.

Are the Widescreens okay for gaming? (The resolution, aspect ratio, etc..) Also, I WAS going to buy the monitor from NewEgg, but I'm afraid I'll get some bad pixels (not enough for a return) and be stuck with it. Thinking about just getting it from Dell instead, pay a little more for knowing I can return it easier. Everything else I'm buying from Newegg.

Thanks man. I'll follow advice and get some after-market cooling!

 

[Mondoman]

...
1) Overall, did I make some good choices for the base of the system? The Core2Duo E6600, the MSI nForce MB (supports SLI and newer Intel-Quads for future).

CPU is good and the Intel OEM CPU cooler is a good one, especially if you have no plans to OC.
For the MB, remember that it is almost never the best route to go SLI; unless you are planning on buying a 2nd identical video card in the very near future (e.g. 6 weeks), a single next-gen card will be faster, cheaper, and use less power. MSI has not been known for top-notch MBs recently (while e.g. ASUS has) - you may want to check out the various Tom's MB reviews.

...
3) Is that a good Power Supply (the brand, qaulity). And is 500 watt enough for all the hardware I have spec'd?

Probably not. Especially for an 8800, go with a good solid brand, and a PS with plenty of +12V amperage (which is the key voltage for current CPUs and GPUs). Something like this is very good (and popular these days): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

 

[drummerdude]

i am a little worried about the psu you chose, there are better ones out there. a good 600W psu should be plenty. heres a few links to check out:
Official XS Tiered PSU
PSU Reference List (US)
PSU 101

 

[Mike_Timmins]

Are the Widescreens okay for gaming? (The resolution, aspect ratio, etc..) Also, I WAS going to buy the monitor from NewEgg, but I'm afraid I'll get some bad pixels (not enough for a return) and be stuck with it. Thinking about just getting it from Dell instead, pay a little more for knowing I can return it easier. Everything else I'm buying from Newegg.

Thanks man. I'll follow advice and get some after-market cooling!

A decent widescreen nowdays usualy dosen't have any trouble for gamers, the graphics card has settings and adjustments that will allow it to keep the images from seeming to wide. Atleast this is my understanding of the situation. I wouldn't go dell, 1)because I hate dell for all things besides laptops 2)because they are overprised. Believe me i know, i'm on a dell right now, and try gong to tigerdirect.com to, and for some components Xoxide.com is a good solution.

 

[battousai831]

are you overclocking?
if you are then the ddr2 800 is good otherwise its a waste of money.
get 533 if your not overclocking (aligned with fsb) i'd get the higher mem gts if you can afford it with the difference in memory. if not i would still recommend it, its going to be more use with more demanding games coming out.

also i agree with the above psu posts.

 

[michaelpbfl]

For the MB, remember that it is almost never the best route to go SLI; unless you are planning on buying a 2nd identical video card in the very near future (e.g. 6 weeks), a single next-gen card will be faster, cheaper, and use less power. MSI has not been known for top-notch MBs recently (while e.g. ASUS has) - you may want to check out the various Tom's MB reviews.

Good point. PHEW! I am NOT going to buy another vid-card for SLI any time soon at all. I was thinking it was a good idea to go with SLI 2 years later when I needed more video horse-power.

I've used to ASUS before, don't mind using them. Just want a stable MB (again, OC not a HUGE deal) with the possibility of supporting some newer Intel CPUs (Quads?).

So...being that I don't need SLI, how about if I swap out the MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i MB with either;

ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X MB.
This is a little expensive, don't need the wifi! It's a little over $200 at New Egg.

Or..

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
This is more friendly at $123. I don't know the different between the 975X and the P965 though... big difference?

 

[battousai831]

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
This is more friendly at $123. I don't know the different between the 975X and the P965 though... big difference?

yeah, 965 is better and thats a better board for what you will use it as. Its also a better overclocker and you don't need crossfire on the 975 either.